Some of the slogans that a few people visiting the cave shrine atop Bababudangiri in Chikkamagaluru taluk raised on Tuesday left policemen and government officials on duty upset. The visitors, a majority of whom were in the age group of 20 to 30, raised slogans that were critical of policemen, insensitive to women, and targeted people of a particular religion.
Around 13,000 people from Chikkamagaluru and neighbouring districts visited Sri Guru Dattatreya Bababudan Swamy Dargah, the shrine, on the final day of the three-day Datta Jayanti celebrations.
Along the route and even after reaching the shrine, they raised slogans hailing Datta and Rama. Besides them, they had many rhyming couplets that were provocative in nature. A teenage girl, who was with other devotees in queue to enter the cave shrine, was visibly upset when the crowd surrounding her shouted an obnoxious two-liner. Another group of people, all clad in saffron, were seen doing rounds on the shrine premises, chanting objectionable slogans. Nobody stopped them. They ignored policemen, who subtly told them to stop raising such slogans.
“This conduct is highly deplorable,” said a police official posted at the entrance of the shrine. “The slogans they chant are not only insensitive but provocative too. They have no idea how the women and girls around them are feeling after hearing such slogans,” he said. As the chant of slogans continued unabated, a senior police official sent an instruction to policemen with video cameras to record the sloganeering.
An official of the Revenue Department, who was disturbed after listening to the slogans, felt, “I wish someone had made videos of youths raising such slogans and shown them to their family members.” She was hoping that the parents would discipline them for their conduct. A couple of former Ministers, legislators, former legislators and seers attended the event. None of them raised objections at the slogans.
Most of the devotees, who came by two-wheelers, were violating the helmet rule. Though they were crossing the narrow and risky road to reach the shrine, they showed scant regard for safety. Similarly, many travelled sitting on the roofs of buses. The police expressed concern that travelling on the roof was highly risky, given the terrain. The police took note of all these things. However, they did not penalise or stop them, as their primary objective was to ensure the event goes smooth without any untoward incidents.
A group of people, heading towards the cave shrine, picked up an argument with two policemen posted at a dargah at Santaveri in Tarikere taluk early in the morning. They allegedly attempted to defile the religious place, warranting a suo motu case by the police.
When The Hindu contacted Vikram Amathe, the SP of Chikkamagaluru, he said the police had installed CCTV cameras at all places, including check-posts at different locations in the district. “Our men have monitored every incident and the conduct of the people, who participated in the event. We are engaged in analysing them. Proper actions will follow,” he said.
The cave shrine has been a disputed site over the decades. For years, it has been venerated by both Hindus and Muslims. Following the demand by pro-Hindu groups to declare it a Hindu place of worship, the issue went up to the Supreme Court. It remains unresolved. Every year, pro-Hindu groups Vishwa Hindu Parishat, Bajrang Dal, and Srirama Sene hold Datta Jayanti celebrations. Muslim families do observe Urs.
